Beauty
by KuroNekoShoujo
Summary: A different take on the evolution of Ruka and Rei's relationship. Warning: Violence, lightly suggested non-con. No like, no read.


**Ok...here's the deal. This was just supposed to be a short, cute little oneshot about Ruka's feelings for Rei, until it kind of...mutated. Don't ask me how, I have no idea, but regardless, I hope you enjoy it!**

**Warning: Angst. Buckets and buckets of angst. Oh, and bishie x bishie romance. Because really, what Saint Beast story is complete without the bishie romance? ^_~**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Saint Beast character, plot, or anything. Some of you may recognize the first section as something out of the OVAs. Rest assured, I still do not own them (sad, but true).**

* * *

Ruka had always considered himself to be a solitary angel. He neither required nor desired the company of others. In fact, before he became an adult angel, the only person he ever allowed close to him was Yuda. Ruka was well aware of the fact that he was different from the other angels in Heaven, even if he wasn't quite sure how, and he knew most of the others felt uncomfortable around him. This suited the crimson-eyed angel's tastes just fine.

That is, until he was struck by lightening.

For that was the only phrase Ruka could think of to describe the feelings that he experienced the first time he met his beautiful angel. The moment he laid eyes on the amber-eyed, violet-haired being, a shock went through his body, as if all of his nerves were on fire. Every one of Ruka's senses heightened, and his very skin seemed to thrum with excitement. Never had the crimson-eyed angel felt such a strong pull towards another. Not even Yuda had made him feel the way this angel, whose name he didn't even know, made him feel with just one look.

Ruka was further surprised by the feeling of warm fondness that spread through his chest as the obviously nervous beauty stuttered that he thought Ruka's wings were beautiful. The silver-haired angel almost laughed at that. How could anything else be considered beautiful with this radiant creature standing right in front of him?

It took a moment for Ruka to find his voice again, but when he finally did, he also remembered his seemingly lost sense of decorum and asked the slightly trembling angel for his name.

"Rei," the slender angel replied, not making eye contact. Ruka smiled. How appropriate that one such as him should have a name meaning "lovely."

"I've always watched you swoop down from the hill to the plaza," Rei stuttered, pausing before continuing, "Um...I have wings, too."

To say the older angel was stunned would be an understatement. If Rei was lovely before, when he extended his wings...Ruka found it difficult to remember how to breathe. How was it that he had never noticed this amazing, exquisite being before? How could he have missed this perfect angel? Rei was heart-breakingly, breathtakingly radiant, and more alluring than any creature, mortal or immortal, had any right to be. None of these words seemed sufficient though, so Ruka just said the first thing that came into his mind.

"They're beautiful."

Rei blushed, making him look all the more like the pure, enticing beings that angels were supposed to be. "N-No, not as lovely as yours."

Ruka found that statement so ridiculous it was almost funny.

"I'm—," Ruka began, but before he could finish his introduction, Rei quickly interceded.

"Ruka, right?" The smaller angel asked timidly, daring to make eye-contact with Ruka for the first time.

Ruka raised an eyebrow in surprise and, he admitted to himself later, secret pleasure. "You know my name?"

"Y-Yes," Rei replied, turning his head away and taking a few shy steps forward. "But I couldn't quite bring myself to speak with you. When I became an adult angel, however, I was blessed with these wings. Then I thought that I finally had an opportunity to speak with you..." the amber-eyed angel smiled, a sight that made Ruka's heart miss a beat in his chest, "And so here I am, beside you."

Ruka just stood there stunned for a moment, then he smiled. "Rei."

"Y-Yes?"

"Tomorrow, let's soar up there together," the older angel finished, looking up towards the sky.

The look of pure joy that lit Rei's face made Ruka's breath catch in his throat. "With pleasure, Ruka."

* * *

From that moment on, Ruka and Rei were rarely seen apart. If they were not flying through the skies practicing combat maneuvers or merely having fun, they were walking together through the forests and meadows of Heaven, talking about everything and anything they could think of. Sometimes they wouldn't even talk at all. They would just sit in the shade of a tree, simply enjoying one another's presence.

So when their relationship finally achieved a level beyond friendship, it came as a surprise to no one.

It happened shortly after their appointment as the Saint Beasts. Ruka was helping Rei move his books from his house into his new chambers at Heaven's Palace. While Rei's collection of literature was nowhere near as extensive as Shin's, it was still a considerable amount, and thus Rei needed some extra assistance lifting the heavy boxes containing them up the three flights of stairs he had to climb to reach his room.

They had finally gotten the last of the boxes to Rei's chambers, and the violet-haired angel was eager to go for an evening flight with Ruka. So eager, in fact, that he neglected to notice the large stack of books right in his path. Still unused to his mind-reading touch, Ruka didn't even think twice about dropping the box he was holding and stepping forward to catch the smaller angel before he hit the ground.

As soon as his skin touched Rei's, Ruka was overwhelmed with feelings of love, admiration and desire, all for him. When he looked down at Rei in shock, he saw younger angel looking up at him as well, an expression of pure horror reflected in his amber eyes.

"R-Ruka, I can e-explain," the violet-haired angel stuttered, backing away from the larger angel as though afraid of what he might do,

But Ruka didn't want an explanation. He had read feelings. Feelings of lust, love, and so much more.

Feelings that exactly mirrored Ruka's own.

Without saying a word, Ruka reached out and gripped Rei's wrist, yanking the smaller angel's slender body against his chest and wrapping one arm around his waist and weaving his free hand through Rei's long, silky hair, stealing his lips in a hard, passionate kiss.

Rei stiffened in surprise for a few seconds before relaxing into the kiss, entwining his arms around Ruka's neck and kissing back with equal fervor.

When the need for oxygen finally broke them apart, Rei looked up at Ruka, a slightly confused expression shining through his glazed eyes. Smiling, Ruka leaned down next to the other angel's ear and whispered, "I love you too, Rei. I have since you first approached me on that cliff," Then, not giving the other a chance to respond, Ruka once again captured his love's soft lips in a searing kiss, gently walking him backwards toward the bed.

When Rei finally lay on his back on the soft bed, Ruka pushed himself up onto his arms so he could just look at the beautiful creature beneath him. Honestly, Ruka was having trouble believing that this enchanting, flawless being wanted him. No, not just wanted him, loved him. Yet one look at the trust and desire shining through those amber eyes, and Ruka knew it to be true. The silver-haired angel didn't know what he could have possibly done to deserve such a gift, but he silently thanked whatever force was behind it all, just before he leaned down to once again capture Rei's kiss swollen lips.

It was Shin who found them the next morning. Yuda had been looking for Ruka to be his sparring partner, but could not find him in any of his usual spots. Shin offered to speak to Rei, knowing that if the crimson-eyed angel wasn't with him, then the younger would be able to tell him where Ruka was.

The sight that greeted Shin the moment he opened Rei's door definitely shocked him. Not that finding Ruka with Rei was surprising, or even finding them in bed together (though the lack of clothing and presence of...other substances was enough to make Shin blush). No, what surprised Shin was that, for all Rei's—and Ruka's, for that matter—obsession with privacy, neither of them remembered to lock the door.

* * *

In the weeks, months, and years following, Ruka and Rei became closer than ever. They spent every moment they could together, and when they had to be apart, both were miserable until they were reunited.

But even in their "honeymoon cloud" (as Gai, who had recently returned from visiting Maya on Earth, dubbed it), they were unable to miss the changes happening in Heaven. Purgings took longer and longer each year, yet they never seemed to touch the higher rank angels. Lower and middle ranks could not set one foot out of line without risking being stripped of their angelic abilities and standing and cast into the Forest of Darkness, while high rank angels were abusing their powers and getting more arrogant by the day, without any fear of repercussions.

The Saint Beasts knew something needed to change, but they still held out hope that Zeus would see how bad the situation was getting and make the changes himself.

It took an attack on two of their own for them to lose any hope of that ever happening.

It was just a few days before the Holy Spirit Festival. Yuda had just recently returned from his mission to dispatch Kamui the Golden Wolf, and he was in very bad shape. He felt guilty for killing a being that, in his opinion, had done nothing wrong, and was questioning more than ever whether Zeus had the best interests of Heaven and Earth in mind. In order to calm his friend and keep him from doing anything rash, Ruka took the ruby-haired angel on a trip to the Goddess's temple to help him clear his head and alleviate some of his tortured emotions.

Which is how Shin and Rei found themselves walking back to Heaven's Palace by themselves late one night after spending the day making preparations for the upcoming festival. Under normal circumstances, Rei would have just flown them home, but he had spent the entire day hanging lights on the tallest parts of the trees and, quite frankly, he didn't even have the energy to materialize his wings, let alone actually fly.

Ruka only heard the story from Gou days after it happened. Apparently, Shin and Rei were passing through the forest just behind Heaven's Palace when a group of high rank angels, drunk on wine and their own power, ambushed them.

No one was entirely sure of what exactly happened in the forest that night. All they knew was that, sometime before dawn the next morning, Gai and Gou were standing out on one of the many balconies of Heaven's Palace, waiting for the sun to rise, as was their custom, when they saw two figures stumbling into the court yard, obviously injured. Running down to help them, the two angels were stunned to find Rei half-carrying, half-dragging an unconscious Shin along beside him.

The unconscious angel was beaten and bloody almost beyond recognition. Most of his robes had been ripped away, and burns, cuts, and bruises marred every inch of visible skin, turning the flesh from a creamy white to a grotesque red. And the violet-haired angel didn't look much better than his aqua-haired companion. Barely any of his clothing remained to cover his body, leaving his terrible wounds bare to the horrified gazes of Gou and Gai.

Both Shin's and Rei's arms bore dark purple bruises in the shape of fingers and hands, as though multiple attackers had tried to hold them down. Similar bruises ran down their torsos and legs, in addition to numerous deep slashes to their chests and abdomens.

As soon as Rei saw Gai and Gou, he let out a sigh of relief and fell to the ground, unconscious, dragging Shin down with him.

Ruka and Yuda returned from their pilgrimage three days later, one day before the Holy Spirit Festival, only to be greeted at the front entrance by a very grim-faced Gou. At first, Ruka was confused. Normally, whenever he was gone for an extended trip, his angel was waiting right outside the entrance to jump into his arms the moment the silver-haired angel exited the carriage. Yuda was perplexed as well, because Shin, while a little more subdued in his show of affection, was no less excited at the prospect of being reunited with his love.

Then Gou told them.

At first, Ruka and Yuda just froze. Ruka, for his part, couldn't process what Gou was telling him. Rei, one of the Saint Beasts, the most powerful angels in Heaven; Rei, his angel, his love...was hurt. Badly.

Ruka was the first to break out of his shock and immediately sprinted into the Palace, Yuda following close behind. The infirmary was in the left wing of the mansion, so by the time they arrived, both angels were out of breath.

But as soon as Ruka saw the two still figures in the beds, he forgot to breath altogether.

Yuda immediately went to Shin's side and began healing his wounds, but Ruka just stood in the doorway, staring. The silver-haired angel just couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that this beaten, broken creature in the bed in front of him was even an angel, let alone Rei. Angels just didn't get hurt like this. They were able to heal quickly from any attack using human weapons, and any wounds dealt with demonic weapons either resulted in a very quick, painful death, or were healed immediately to prevent said painful death. But these...these were neither human nor demonic in nature. As sick as it made Ruka to admit, he knew...

These wounds were made with angelic abilities.

Ruka was broken out of his horrified stupor by Yuda's strangled cry. Turning to his friend, he saw the leader of the Saint Beasts had stumbled back from the bed on which his aqua-haired lover lay, his hand covering his mouth and a look of pure horror and revulsion on his face.

Rushing to his friend's side, Ruka gripped Yuda's broad shoulders and turned him so they were face to face. "Yuda? Yuda, what's wrong? Answer me, Yuda!"

But Yuda couldn't, or wouldn't, speak, and merely pointed to the bed where Shin was lying. Ruka turned to see what had so shaken the normally unshakable angel...

...And had to exercise all of his considerable self-control to suppress his gag reflex.

Apparently, after Yuda had finished healing all the bruises and lacerations on Shin's front, the crimson-haired angel had turned his love over to see if there were any additional wounds on his back.

And there were.

There, in the center of his back, was the word "Genbu." Burned. Into. His flesh.

Ruka couldn't believe it. How could anyone—angel, human, or demon—do something like this? This was beyond cruel, this was just...evil. Pure evil.

Stuck by a sudden, horrifying thought, Ruka rushed over to Rei's side and, as gently as he could, turned the delicate angel onto his front. Sure enough, burned across the flesh of his back in the same manner as Shin's, was the word "Suzaku."

Ruka stumbled back and turned away, unable to look at what had once been the pale, flawless skin of his lover's back. He was dimly aware of Yuda stepping around him in order to begin healing Rei as well, but he was too dazed to take much notice of anything around him. Ruka just had too many emotions going through him at once. Horror, sorrow, rage, pain...and guilt.

Just as the latter was about to consume him, Gou came running into the room, having finally caught up with him and Yuda.

Then, Ruka let the rage take over.

Growling, he ran over to Gou, grabbing him by the front of his robes and slamming him against the nearest wall. Heard Yuda calling out his name and telling him to stop, but he was too far gone to care.

"Why?" the enraged angel shouted, tightening his grip on the front of Gou's clothes. "Why weren't you with them? You knew the hatred that has been building towards us ever since Zeus-sama increased our power! WHY THE HELL DID YOU LEAVE THEM ALONE?"

Gou, who had been half-expecting a reaction like this, was still taken aback at the pure hatred in the others crimson eyes. He knew it wasn't really directed at him, but it was still more than a little unsettling.

"We had no reason to suspect that anyone would try to hurt them. After all, they're members of the Saint Beasts! Most angels are afraid to even speak to us, let alone outright attack us. And even if we did have any reason to suspect something, do you honestly think Rei or Shin would stand to let themselves be protected by anyone, even us? You and Yuda know better than anyone how stubborn they can be."

"Then why didn't you contact us the moment this happened?" Ruka snarled. Truthfully, he knew he had no right to be angry with Gou, but at that moment he was just so enraged, and he needed someone to take it out on.

Gai, who had come running when heard the commotion, placed a slightly trembling hand on Ruka's arm, trying to comfort and, at the same time, calm the near-hysterical angel. "We tried, Ruka," he whispered, his voice shaking, "We sent a messenger out to the Goddess's temple the day we found them, but by the time he arrived, you and Yuda had already left."

Gai's soft words finally succeeded in calming the silver-haired angel. Slowly, he uncurled his fists from Gou's robe and took a step back, not making eye-contact with the other angel.

"I'm sorry, Gou," he whispered, staring at the floor. "I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. I just..."

Gou placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You don't need to apologize, Ruka. I can't even imagine..." But before Gou could finish his sentence, Yuda walked over to them.

Immediately, Ruka turned to his long-time friend. "Well? How are they? Will they be alright?"

Yuda sighed, exhaustion written all over his face. "Their wounds have all healed. The only thing that concerns me are...the burns," Yuda said after a pause, as if trying to push the visual in his mind away. "I could not erase all trace of them. While I was able to completely heal them, both Rei and Shin will bear those scars for the rest of their lives."

Both Yuda and Ruka then turned to Gai and Gou, and, in unison, asked the same question.

"Who. Did. This?"

* * *

Neither Yuda nor Ruka ever got an answer to that question. The day after Rei and Shin had been discovered, both Gai and Gou had scoured the forest searching for some sign of the attackers. All they found was a burned out clearing where they believed the attack had occurred, two large pools of blood (which they believed belonged to Rei and Shin) and several frozen, blood stained trees, though someone, or multiple someones, had been pinned to the trees with an ice spear.

Ruka smiled at that. His angel never went down without a fight.

Rei and Shin woke up two days after Yuda and Ruka's return, yet questioning them about that identity of their attackers was about as fruitful as everything else they'd tried. Both Shin and Rei refused to speak of what happened to anyone, not even their lovers, and not even each other. Ruka even resorted to trying to read Rei's mind while he slept, but he was so overwhelmed with feelings of fear, pain, and shame that he could read nothing else.

Finally, Yuda and Ruka decided to take the matter before Zeus. After all, Zeus all that happened in Heaven. Surely he would know who had attacked Shin and Rei, and punish them accordingly.

Or so they thought.

However, when they brought the situation to Zeus's attention, the god did not react as they expected. He was not horrified, he was not enraged, he was not even sorrowful.

He was amused.

"So you are telling me that two of my Saint Beasts could not fight off a group of common angels? Well then, if they have allowed their skills to diminish to such a level, even after all the power I've given to them, don't you think they deserve whatever happens to them as a result of their own ineptitude?"

Ruka was shocked, appalled, and enraged, all at once, and one glance at Yuda told him his friend was having a similar reaction to their god's words.

And what enraged them even more was that they knew they could do nothing about it.

So, with clenched teeth and a stiff bow, Yuda and Ruka left the temple of Zeus, both vowing that they would never, ever, bow to the being residing within again.

* * *

Eventually Ruka stopped looking for the perpetrators behind the attack, and settled for helping his love deal with the aftermath.

It was far from an easy journey. Rei had nightmares nearly every night, and for weeks after the attack, he wouldn't let anyone but Ruka touch him at all. And even when he was with Ruka, he still jumped at every stray shadow, started at every little sound, and he never went out at night.

The hardest part by far though was convincing Rei that Ruka still loved him. The violet-haired angel had, somehow, heard what Zeus had said about both he and Shin in the temple (Ruka strongly suspected Pandora's hand in that) and he believed every word. He thought that Ruka couldn't possibly love him any more, not after lost all worth, not only as a Saint Beast, but as an angel as well.

And, of course, they're were the scars.

Rei couldn't stand to look at them, so he thought that Ruka must find them hideous as well. There was no way Ruka could still find him beautiful.

And he made the mistake of telling the crimson-eyed angel that to his face.

To which Ruka responded by pulling Rei tight against his body and kissing the smaller angel so passionately he saw stars.

"Nothing, _nothing_, will ever diminish your beauty in my eyes. I love you, more than anything else in Heaven or Earth, and if you let me, I'll show you just how much tonight," Ruka whispered in Rei's ear after they broke apart, gasping for breath.

And by the time that night was over, Rei never doubted Ruka's love for him ever again.

* * *

**So...Review? Please? I know it's really...well, I don't really know what it is, but hopefully it didn't suck too bad, right? Right? ...Feel free to chime in any time, guys. **


End file.
